Tanzania’s CCM: Is the Begening Hegemony Crumbling?”

Dar es Salaam. Wrangles within Chama Cha Mapinduzi have been cited by an international think tank as being among the major threats to the survival of the party. The ruling CCM, one of the few independence era political parties in Africa still in power, is marred by various challenges including graft and bitter infighting pitting several factions within its rank and file that have hugely affected its popularity, says the South African-based think tank.A report published at the weekend by the Institute for Security Studies, which is a regional human security policy think tank, says: “CCM, like the Africa National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, is one of several liberation parties in Africa that are still in power and, like the ANC, CCM is increasingly facing its greatest opposition from within,” the report, authored by Mashaka Lewela, Research Intern and Emmanuel Kisiangani, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, says. In a quick rejoinder, however, the CCM secretary general, Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, said yesterday issues raised in the report have are nothing new. “There is nothing surprising (about the report) considering that these issues have already been discussed extensively in the media, in the academia and in the political circles,” he said when reached by phone. The report entitled: “Tanzania’s CCM: Is the Benign Hegemony Crumbling?”, says this is the time for the CCM to rejuvenate itself by moving beyond electoral manoeuvres if it is to remain in power and become a real instrument for improving governance. “Looking at 2015, it is unlikely that the CCM will lose its stranglehold on power, but it is probable that the Opposition will gain statistically,” added the report. But Mr Kinana said the authors of the report sound like they aren’t sure of what they were talking about. “They are in fact trying to find answers to their own question,” said the CCM supremo in reference to the title of the report, adding: “I strongly believe that Tanzanians are in a much better position to discuss and evaluate political developments and events in the country than foreigners.” The report says though substantially fragmented as it comprises 20 different political parties, the Tanzanian opposition has been slowly growing in strength, as witnessed by its performance in the 2010 elections. “For a party (CCM) whose leadership transition has consistently been seamless, the current perceptions and divisive internal wrangles are threatening its dominance ahead of the 2015 elections – in which President Kikwete will not run again after serving his two-year constitutional terms,” notes the report. The report adds the President seems to realise the extent of the challenges and the threat they pose to his legacy. “This explains his attempts to reform and restructure the party,” says the report, adding: “ In 2010 he initiated a CCM sloughing/rebranding drive (kujivua gamba), which entailed the ruling party touring development programmes, while in April 2011 the party asked several of its top brass – including the then secretary general, Yusuf Makamba – to resign voluntarily or face expulsion.” It notes further that those who resigned were replaced by a set of politicians with a cleaner reputation, although this did not dramatically change the party’s image. “Interestingly, the majority of CCM supporters seem to remain confident about the party’s fortunes on the basis that it has done better than previous leaderships to improve the economy and living standards of Tanzanians, despite the difficult global economic situation,” says the report. Reacting to these observations, Mr Kinana dismissed the report’s reflection that CCM was facing more challenges than ever before, noting that the challenges the ruling party faced in the 1995 General Election were much more daunting. In that year, he said, Mr Augustino Mrema, the then presidential candidate on the NCCR-Mageuzi platform, got bigger percentage of votes than what the Chadema presidential candidate, Dr Willibrod Slaa, bagged in 2010. He, however acknowledged that the authors were right by pinpointing in their conclusion that factors that were likely to weaken CCM were mostly from within than from outside the party. Mr Kinana mentioned internal challenges as factionalism, wrangling and alleged corruption, but was vehement that CCM won’t lose in 2015. He said many of the constituencies which CCM lost to the Opposition in the 2010 elections was a result of the party’s mishandling in choosing candidates and disunity within the party. CCM held its 8th national congress in Dodoma last month at which President Kikwete was reelected as the party’s national chairman. The report said mindful of diminishing public approval for the party that has dominated the politics of the Union of Tanganyika (Mainland) and Zanzibar (island), President Kikwete initiated a restructuring process in 2010 that culminated in the recent national congress. Among those elected were Philip Mangula (vice-chairman mainland) and Dr Ali Mohamed Shein (vice-chairman Zanzibar). Former East African Legislative Assembly speaker Abdulrahman Kinana was elected secretary general, while former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Asha Migiro became secretary for foreign relations.